The crypto industry has said that the key distinction between coins and tokens is that crypto coins are the native asset of a Blockchain like Bitcoin or Ethereum, whereas crypto tokens are created by platforms and applications that are built on top of an existing Blockchain.

Another notable difference between tokens and coins is what they represent. While crypto coins are essentially digital versions of money, tokens can stand for assets or deeds. You can buy tokens with coins, but some tokens can carry more value than any of them. For example, a company's share.

And so in sum, the simple explanation of the difference between a coin and a token is that a coin has its own blockchain, while a token doesn't. Another thing to note is that coins usually are used for 1 thing (payments), while tokens have various use cases, which can include payments but also other things.